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Headlines

Federal Reserve officials have said they may need to raise interest rates "fairly soon" if the economy stays strong, minutes of their meeting show. The first meeting of the Fed since Donald Trump took office as president discussed the possibility of a rate rise as early as March. Most economists have been forecasting a rise in June. However, Fed officials appear divided on the timing of a rise amid uncertainty over Mr Trump's policies. "Several'' expressed fears that unemployment could fall substantially below the Fed's 4.8% target. That could trigger inflation pressures and force the Fed to boost rates at a faster pace than financial markets expect.

The UK economy grew by more than previously reported in the final three months of 2016, according to the latest official estimate. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 0.7%, up from 0.6%, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The upward revision is mainly due to manufacturing industry having done better than thought. The ONS cut its estimate for growth in 2016 as a whole to 1.8%, down from the 2% it forecast last month. This downward revision pushes UK slightly below Germany, with an estimate of 1.9%, in the G7 growth league, said John Hawksworth, chief economist at PwC, "though the difference is well within the margin of error on any such early GDP estimates."

Market data

Price

1d

YTD

2016

UK (£)

FTSE 100

7,302.25

0.4%

2.2%

14.4%

FTSE 250

18,677.59

-0.5%

3.3%

3.7%

FTSE All Share

3,968.62

0.2%

2.5%

12.5%

FTSE Small Cap

5,341.87

-0.2%

3.9%

11.0%

St. James's Place

1,087.00

-0.3%

7.2%

3.9%

Europe (€)

Euro Stoxx 600

373.38

0.0%

3.3%

-1.2%

DAX 30

11,998.59

0.3%

4.5%

7.0%

CAC 40

4,895.88

0.1%

0.7%

4.9%

US (US$)

S&P 500

2,362.82

-0.1%

5.5%

9.5%

Dow Jones Ind

20,775.60

0.2%

5.1%

13.4%

NASDAQ

5,860.63

-0.1%

8.9%

7.5%

Asia

Hang Seng

24,117.12

-0.4%

9.6%

0.4%

Nikkei 225

19,371.46

0.0%

1.3%

1.8%

Australia 200

5,784.66

-0.4%

2.1%

7.0%

MSCI AC Asia Pacific

146.09

0.6%

8.2%

2.3%

World (US$)

MSCI World (Developed)

1,842.37

0.0%

5.2%

5.3%

MSCI AC World (Dev & Em)

446.04

0.0%

5.7%

5.6%

MSCI Emerging Markets

950.95

0.6%

10.3%

8.6%

MSCI AC World Value

202.60

0.0%

4.2%

9.5%

MSCI AC World Growth

231.46

0.1%

7.3%

1.8%

Fixed Income

FTSE Gilts All Stocks

3,518.86

0.4%

-0.2%

8.5%

FTSE Index Linked All Stocks

629.02

0.3%

-1.2%

21.2%

ML Sterling Corporate Bonds

383.01

0.3%

0.5%

10.7%

ML Global High Yield Bonds

351.43

0.1%

2.6%

15.0%

Commodities (US$)

Brent Crude Oil

55.84

-1.4%

-2.9%

23.4%

Gold

1,233.90

-0.3%

7.0%

8.6%

UK Sectors

Basic Materials

5,678.28

-1.3%

12.4%

93.9%

Consumer Goods and Services

21,273.32

1.3%

8.1%

9.6%

Financials

4,983.44

0.8%

4.3%

8.6%

Health Care

10,272.11

0.2%

4.0%

5.8%

Industrials

3,968.62

0.2%

2.5%

15.4%

Oil & Gas

7,790.48

-0.6%

-8.9%

54.2%

Technology

2,118.90

-0.7%

5.9%

33.4%

Telecommunications

3,252.82

1.0%

-3.8%

-14.7%

Utilities

8,739.66

0.0%

1.5%

2.5%

Currencies

$ per £

1.24

0.0%

0.8%

-16.3%

€ per £

1.18

0.0%

0.5%

-15.7%

¥ per £

140.75

-0.3%

-2.6%

-22.7%

Indicators

VIX Index (Volatility)

11.74

1.5%

-16.4%

-22.9%

Baltic Dry Index

806.00

3.6%

-16.1%

101.1%

UK Rates

BoE Base Rate

0.25%

LIBOR (3 months)

0.00%

Consumer Price Index

1.80%

Retail Price Index

2.60%

Yields / Ratios

FTSE 100 Adj P/E

27.83

FTSE All Share Adj P/E

25.36

FTSE All Share Yld

3.83%

15yr Gilt Yield

1.64%

10yr Gilt Yield

1.20%

10yr US Tres Yield

2.41%

Market prices will reflect the last closing prices with the exception of the Asian markets which may be still trading at the time the data is obtained. The data for these markets is therefore a snapshot of live trading data obtained between 06.45 and 07.15 GMT. Growth is shown cumulative and is not annualised. A positive currency movement indicates the £ appreciating against the other currency. Performance data does not account for the re-investment of dividends. This information has been reproduced by kind permission of Bloomberg and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of St. James's Place Wealth Management. St. James's Place considers the information to be reliable but it is not intended to provide a sufficient basis on which to make an investment decision.

Source: MSCI. MSCI makes no express or implied warranties or representations and shall have no liability whatsoever with respect to any MSCI data contained herein. The MSCI data may not be further redistributed or used as a basis for other indices or any securities or financial products. This report is not approved, endorsed, reviewed or produced by MSCI. None of the MSCI data is intended to constitute investment advice or a recommendation to make (or refrain from making) any kind of investment decision and may not be relied on as such.

Some of the products and investment structures documented within this article will not be available to our clients in Asia. For information on the funds that are available please get in touch.

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Important notice

Although the content of the article(s) archived were correct at the time of writing, the accuracy of the information should not be relied upon, as it may have been subject to subsequent tax, legislative or event changes.